Tales from the Mat

Yoga and the Years
By Brian Farr

Yoga came into my life the summer after I turned 33. A skiing accident the previous winter had wrenched the muscles across the center of my back, and those tight muscles were twisting the alignment of my spine. After the fourth session with a chiropractor, she told me that my back would stay in proper alignment if I got frequent adjustments from her … or started a yoga practice. I attended my first yoga class the following week.

The yoga studio I chose was close to my apartment in San Francisco. I had read some research that claimed the best predictor for establishing a consistent workout routine was convenience (sad but true). After a day at the office, I would get off the bus, walk across the street to the studio, change my clothes, and spend the next 90 minutes practicing yoga. I did this two or three times a week … and it transformed my life.

The pains across the center of my back were gone within a month. Energy increased in all areas of life. I slept better, concentration improved, and physical abilities in other sports increased. My sense of balance, coordination and stamina on the ski slopes improved significantly. I became a better skier than I was when I was racing in my teens and early 20’s. My entire body was rebuilt by yoga.

And then I changed studios. The 1989 Earthquake pushed me up to Marin County. No big deal, I thought to myself. I checked out a few studios, picked one and became a regular. Unfortunately, my ego got overly invested in how I ‘looked’ at this studio. I found myself trying to practice like an experienced student, rather than a student. I attempted to do the postures ‘perfectly’, pushing my body beyond its natural alignment. (All of this understanding came to me later, after the injury.) I was attending classes regularly, practicing a little bit at home and going to occasional workshops. But I was ignoring the pain in my low back.

The surgeon said I probably had a bulging disk for months, but it never got the chance to heal because of my continual activity (yoga, kayaking, painting the front porch, etc). Some sort of presumed invincibility kept pushing me forward. One night, however, a piece of that bulging disk broke free and wedged my sciatic nerve against one of the lower vertebrae. Ouch. I was 38 years old. I felt like it was the end of my life. Looking back, I now realize it was the beginning of middle age.

Yoga was not very attractive to me after that surgery. My recovery was nearly miraculous, but I just wasn’t interested in the asanas. I did a lot of walking and hiking, occasionally used the machines at a health club, and eventually discovered ecstatic dance. The movement and flowing energy of the dance floor reinvigorated my body. Once again, I started to experience myself as flexible and energetic, rather than limited by injury.

The asanas started calling to me around my 43rd birthday. I was drawn back to yoga by the quiet of the practice, the gentle camaraderie of the studio, and the incremental improvements from consistent work with postures. For the next ten years I practiced with teachers who taught the fundamental principles of yoga and understood the mechanics of the human body. The remarkable benefits of steady practice were rewoven into all areas of my life: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Then two years ago I began taking classes at a health club in my neighborhood. At first it was fun. Classes were vinyasa style, with continuous movement between postures and innumerable down-dogs. Most students were 20- or 30-somethings. The teachers were upbeat, insistent instructors. I enjoyed the energy of the workout environment and the satisfaction of keeping up with the fast pace. However, I was getting sloppy with my postures. And I was pushing a 54-year-old body beyond its limits. Eventually, my left shoulder ‘froze’.

Recovery took about a year. Stretching exercises, massage therapy, more stretching exercises, and then the sharp needles of a wise acupuncturist finally reopened the full range of motion in that shoulder. I was humbled by the injury. I was painfully reminded that my physical body has natural limits. Rather than over-extending again and again, long-term health is better served when I work within those limits, supporting my practice (and life) with steady patience.

I started coming to JLYC in February. Attending classes in a dedicated yoga studio is wonderful. I appreciate the wisdom of the teachers, the physical support of the Iyengar props, and the elegant beauty of the studio itself. 23 years after my very first class, I have been brought back to the profound benefits of a simple, regular yoga practice.